I know we’ve been home for over two months now, but some days it hits me that we are feeling more and more comfortable around each other. Not that I ever felt uncomfortable around Elijah, but I am just surprised anew each day at how much more and more natural it becomes to hug and love on him. I have noticed the naturalness from Elijah, too. Yes, the honeymoon is long over and we are well down the road to being settled in as a family of seven. Amazing. It’s simply amazing to me to think back to just last month and see where we are now. Thank you, God!!
I have an awesome husband that let me get away last weekend. I left early Friday morning and didn’t come home until Sunday evening and spent the whole weekend catching up on scrapbooking some family photos. It was great to hang out with friends and enjoy no responsibilities. The kids all had a great weekend with Chris. It felt great to come home to lots of hugs and excitement to see mommy.
Several Christmases ago I made fleece no-sew blankets for Micahaela, Benjamin and Johanna. I realized a bit ago that Elijah needed one, too, so on our last trip to Wally World I had him pick out some fleece. He was very excited and picked out STL cardinals that matched one of his shirts. It also hit me that Ami never got one…oops! Guess she’s next.
We went to see Elijah’s orthopaedic doctor yesterday thinking that he would be getting a new short arm cast on for two more weeks. The doctor was so pleased with the healing that the x-ray indicated, that he chose just to keep Elijah in just a splint for two more weeks! Yea God! It was so nice to get that stinky thing off and be able to scrub his arm a bit. His elbow and wrist were naturally a bit stiff and tender from being in the same position for over 6 weeks, but by last night he was doing much better with it. He enjoyed a shower with no assistance from Mom and gets to take the splint off for a bit here and there to exercise his arm. We go back in a month for one more follow up, then we should be good to go!
Elijah also had one other doctor’s appointment yesterday in follow-up to a concern that his pediatrician had. The specialist said surgery isn’t needed, as we had possibly thought, and that we’ll just keep an eye on things. Since we arrived home two months ago, Elijah has had no less than a dozen doctor’s appointments and a few other lab visits on top of that. He has been such a trooper through it all and hasn’t complained a bit. After next month’s orthopaedic visit we should be done for a while. We are so proud of him, he deserves the red plate at dinner tonight! We are thankful for good medical insurance, but mostly thankful for the healing that has occurred in his life.
This is Elijah’s horse made from two sticks and a croqueted chain that he made from orange yarn. A while back he learned how to croquet a chain and was quite taken with working on this newly acquired skill. One night I heard him still awake about 10 and just peeked in to tell him to try to get to sleep. The next morning it took three times of going in his room to wake him up. He finally dragged himself out of bed and came upstairs proudly showing off a chain that he had made…..it was about 20 feet long! I have no idea how long he stayed up that night or how he croqueted that much in the dark, but it was kind of hard to reprimand him for “playing” and not sleeping! Man, I love that kid!
We have had a few warm days and are so ready for spring around here. I look forward to spending more time outside with the kids and enjoying the greening up of the beautiful woods that we live in. Elijah’s favorite place has become the creek. I’m sure once his cast is off he’ll enjoy it even more. He gets this cast off next week, then will have a shorter one for a couple more weeks.
Benjamin finished Upwards basketball this week with the awards night last night. Thank you Coach G and Coach B! We are proud of him and the improvement he has shown over last year. He is a good team player and gives it his all. We also love how he has grown in maturity asks inquisitively about God related things. We are proud of you, buddy!
I also wanted to add a note about our 222 travel buddies from our trip to China in 2006. I have so enjoyed staying connected with these 5 other families (of course one is family!). It has been a blessing to witness how God has continued to work in their families and grow them through this miracle of adoption. Some have adopted again already, and others still wait on God’s timing. Having been through it once already, we all know how perfectly God matches each of our children with us. That doesn’t necessarily make the wait any easier the next time, but it does give us a new confidence in how He works to bless our families. I am so thankful for how God in His perfect timing blessed me with getting to know all of you. That was a HUGE bonus to our adoption journey that I never imagined. I love you all and pray for you!
As mentioned before Elijah likes to be creative and make things. He and Benjamin totally fit into the same category in this area. They use motors from old toys, craft sticks, tape (of all kinds!), old Kleenex boxes, straws, or anything else they can scrounge up. I should have been taking pictures all along, but here are just some of the things recently created.
First we have a robot:
Next is a rocket jetpack…the photo doesn’t do it justice:
Next a car with a small battery operated motor:
Now a gun with a fan on the tip (again battery powered):
And finally a picture of Benjamin’s project, a couple of days early for St. Patrick’s Day. If you try to steal the “gold” the “cloud” will fall down on your hand. Pretty cool!
We had the privilege of meeting Tabitha today as she was driving through town on her way home. She lived at PHF for a few months last year and kept a blog. It was one of the blogs that I regularly stalked looking for pictures or tidbits about Elijah. We are thankful for the time that she spent there and the love that she showed to Elijah and his friends. He was very happy to see her today, although did act a bit shy. Thanks for making the time to stop and see us on your way home, Tabitha!
Ami thinks Jasmine on Alladin is pretty cool and came out wearing her pajamas the other night “like Jasmine does”. She evidently thought that bearing a little skin and taking her arms out the sleeves would make her look just like Jasmine.
Michaela took on the project of making sugar cookies and had the other kids cut out and decorate them. She is a great project manager and organizer.
One more photo is from this last Saturday. Chris and Michaela ran the concession stand at Upwards and had a few willing customers. The funds raised go to help orphans in Kenya that our church is involved with.
As most of you know, our path to Elijah started back in June 2007 when we began sponsoring him through the Philip Hayden Foundation. It wasn’t until last August that I backtracked and blogged about how we had come to meet our son/brother. You can read about it here. Since that time PHF has grown to hold a bigger and bigger place in all of our hearts. We have prayed for the children and staff there daily since we first began our sponsorship relationship. Through pictures, calendars, and videos we felt that we knew so many of the children there and it was such a JOY to finally meet, hold, and play with the children when we visited this last January. Each one of these children is so very precious, a treasure to Him. They come from various backgrounds and circumstances, and with a variety of health issues or special needs. Here is a look back to some of the faces of these kiddos that have touched our hearts so deeply.
Before we left for China someone asked, “Are you going to sponsor another child after you bring Elijah home?” My answer was, “Of course!” I didn’t realize that what they were really asking was, “Are you going to fall in love with another child that you sponsor and end up adopting again?” All I knew was that PHF was a wonderful haven for some of China’s orphans and that we were so impressed with them that there was no way we could say “no” to sponsoring another child. After all, isn’t it our duty as Christians to look after orphans, even if we aren’t in pursuit of an adoption?
So yes, we are sponsoring another sweetheart that currently resides at PHF. His name is Teddy and he is 14 months old. Our sponsorship monies help cover costs of food, clothing, and care. PHF currently houses about 100 children and there are several that still need sponsorship. I am writing this post to ask you to pray about how you might be involved in answering the call to care for orphans, His children without an earthly home. For just $35 a month (or more!) you can open your heart to helping a child in need, and I guarantee you will be blessed beyond measure. No worries, not all sponsorships lead to adoption, but I can’t quite guarantee that one. My goal (as encouraged by Tim’s vision) is to “Raise 9 in ‘09″ and encourage nine other people to become sponsors. If you feel led to be in on this incredible adventure of caring for orphans at PHF, I’d love to know. We cannot say enough good things about this wonderful Christian organization, a little piece of heaven in China. Just click on one of the PHF links to find out more.
I just need to brag on my newest son some more. This kid is so kind and thoughtful. From our first evening that we spent together in China when he set the table and made sure everyone had their food before he did, we have seen his generous spirit over and over. While his cousin was visiting last weekend we went to Benjamin’s Upwards basketball game. He took his money to spend at the concession stand, but not for himself…he wanted to buy juice for Elle. He also saw that Benjamin didn’t have water and some of the other boys did, so he asked if he could spend his money and buy a bottle of water for his brother. At the store today he wanted to buy cookies to share with everyone for a snack because Michaela had made cookies for us a few days ago and they were now all gone. He also bought a pack of gum and was handing it out to everyone as soon as we all got back in the van. He gets a small monthly allowance, yet he wants to spend it on others. These are but a few examples that we have seen. Honestly at first I wondered if maybe he was just solidifying his place in the family, making himself needed and wanted. But that is not the case at all, his true colors have shone through again and again. We are so blessed to have him in our family and we have so much to learn from him.
Here are a couple pictures of him around the house. He loves his little bear that the hospital gave him when he broke his arm. He also discovered Benjamin’s Spiderman outfit and had a good laugh over it. Here is a cute one of Ami, too. She is no longer “Jasmine” every day, but does put different dress up clothes on daily. This morning she gathered all her “China babies” together and said, “They were just borned.”
